Well, it was nice that the year went out on a high (see below).
As I sit here eating assorted rice crackers and drinking sump oil port, it’s hard to credit that at the beginning of 2008 I was finishing off my previous novel (Time and Tyde) and wondering if I could be bothered to waste my time sending it out to publishers. Then I heard about the Orbit/QWC manuscript development retreat and thought, What the hell? I’ll give it a go.
Since then I’ve had four stories accepted for publication, been shortlisted in one short story competition and was the winner in another. I’ve also finished and polished up a whole new novel (TimeSplash! – many thanks to Terry Hornby, Rod Rivers and Wifie for help with the polishing) and have it out with three agents already.
It may not sound like much, but after a lifetime of failing to get anywhere with my fiction, I’m suddenly having some real success. I blame it to a large extent on Orbit and the Queensland Writers Centre. That retreat last May really opened my eyes and got me focused on what I needed to do. Specifically, Marianne de Pierres, Kate Eltham and Bernadette Foley, put together a package of concentrated enlightenment that changed my whole approach to getting published – with incredibly good results.
I should also mention the other writers who were at the retreat with me. We refer to ourselves collectively as the Orbiteers. These guys have been a constant source of support and encouragement. It is so good to be teamed with such a group of talented writers – who just happen to be terrific human beings too. The whole experience of that retreat and the subsequent months (which also included joining the Vision Writers Group – another amazing collection of talent and wit) has changed the equation for me. I am no longer the lonely, isolated outsider I used to be. I have made inroads, I’m networking, I actually have friends who are also writers. The publishing world doesn’t seem so cold and hostile as it did at the beginning of the year. I have found islands of warmth and fuzziness in that great ocean. I even have hope again that I might succeed as a writer!
Of course that might just be the sump oil port talking (or the rice crackers – hard to tell). Being an anal, scientific type, I did my accounts for the year, to see just what my success amounted to. On the one hand, I got paid for a couple of things. On the other I forked out money for retreats, conferences, memberships, books, etc.. The balance was a loss of nearly $600 for the year. Not as bad as it could be but definitely a reminder (as if one were needed!) that I still have a very long way to go.
Well, come on 2009! I’ve got a lot to do and I’m counting on you for support.
Happy New Year everybody!
